tag:Community Blogs:blogCommunity Blogsul/user/3/32035-uQfLpjpg-avatar.jpgFunksyhttp://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Funksy2009-01-24T16:27:39ZCommunity Blogs:154897So how is PC multiplayer on MW2? - FunksyFunksy2009-11-11T23:22:55Z2009-11-11T23:22:55Z<a target="_blank" href="http://www.gamearena.com.au/pc/games/title/modern-warfare-2/reviews.php?id=5033868">MW2 Multiplayer Review</a>
<br/>
<br/>I've been looking for a story that looked specifically at the multiplayer aspect of MW2 on PC, and I finally found one. It looks like the majority of the skepticism on our (the PC community) parts was justified and the experience has definitely suffered for it. Now, granted, this is one person writing about their own experiences, but I feel that the content of the write-up shows that they have the background and knowledge to write on this subject intelligently.
<br/>
<br/>The gist of it is that we were right to be concerned and that MW2 should not be our new destination for competitive multiplyer on the PC.
<br/>
<br/>God damn it... Oh well, I guess its nice knowing I have an extra 50... wait, make that 60 dollars in the account.
<br/>
<br/>PS. Curious if any of you out there have been playing it and what your take on it is (PC version specifically)Community Blogs:154488My "wah" post (MW2 related) - FunksyFunksy2009-11-08T06:43:16Z2009-11-08T06:43:16ZSo everybody's written a blog stating their opinion of MW2. Except me. So here it is
<br/>
<br/>IW not implementing dedicated server support, and in fact putting significant effort and development time into creating IWnet (a dumbed down experience), irritates the fuck out of me. I've been playing PC games for a number of years, and to take this route is just baffling to me. I can guess at some of the reasons behind it, but it still feels like I got kicked in the balls by my best friend.
<br/>
<br/>But that's not what this is about. No. This is about IW looking at me in the face, and lying. Without flinching. What's that? You say that IWnet is going to be better for me than dedicated servers were? Really?!
<br/>
<br/>"IWnet will match you up with the best ping server that matches your criteria"
<br/>
<br/>THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT NO HOME BASED ISP CAN SUPPORT THE SAME BANDWIDTH AS MOST DATACENTERS! You fucking bastards. Don't look me in the eye, and tell me your shit tastes like chocolate. I'm not that stupid (though some would tell me otherwise).
<br/>
<br/>That's really all I have to say. I'm not even that mad anymore about the lack of dedicated servers. I'm significantly more irritated that they won't stop lying to me. Over. And over. And over again.
<br/>
<br/>This is not a good thing for PC gamers. Period.Community Blogs:133456Since We're on the Subject of Video Game Music - FunksyFunksy2009-05-26T01:36:04Z2009-05-26T01:36:04ZThere seem to be several blogs out there currently about people's favorite game music, and I've wanted to do a post about one of my favorite games and its soundtrack for a while, so now seems like a perfect time to do it.
<br/>
<br/>Mega Man X for the SNES. The minute this game loaded up and I was thrust into the intro stage, I knew that I was going to experience exhilaration like never before. A seemingly faster paced Mega Man with a music track that made me feel every bit like the savior that the Blue Bomber is? <strong>What is there not to like?!</strong>
<br/>
<br/>[embed]133456:19551[/embed]
<br/>
<br/>Little did I know that this seemingly awesome gameplay was merely a taste of what Capcom was about to throw at me. Somehow my young mind knew that Chill Penguin was the logical choice for the easiest Maverick, so I dove into the ice stage first.
<br/>
<br/><img src="http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/user/3/32035-133456-198789300pxmmxchillpenguinlargeeditjpg-620x.jpg"/>
<br/>
<br/>Shortly into the level, I was bestowed with a leg upgrade allowing X to dash. This singular upgrade completely changed the game. Comparing it to the classic Mega Man games was now almost inaccurate due to the radical speed X now had.
<br/>
<br/>The rest of the game is awesome, but honestly none of the upgrades or weapons grabbed from here on out really changed the game that drastically for me. <strong>BUT THIS WAS A GOOD THING</strong>. With the wall slide and the dash jump, there really wasn't anything else necessary. The bosses for the most part were a blast to fight and all the levels were unique. In classic Mega Man fashion, fighting the last boss (Sigma in this case) was a multiple level, multiple boss fight ordeal, and they were appropriately difficult. If I have one complaint, its that the added speed should have compelled them to make some bigger stages. At the time, when I was new to it, they were appropriately long, but now that I have some experience, no stage takes more than a few minutes.
<br/>
<br/>Only one thing was necessary to place this already awesome game in my list of classics, and that was the soundtrack. The soundtrack uses mostly typical rock instrument sounds (guitar, bass, and drums), but uses them to great effect to create tracks that are always full of energy and adrenaline. Throughout the entire game, I never entered a stage and wasn't instantly hyped by the music.
<br/>
<br/>Spark Mandrill is by far my favorite. It was the most awesome guitar track I had heard in a video game at that point and my unpopped guitar solo cherry was savagely ravaged by this track. From that point on I was addicted to the guitar track in all genres of music and have never looked back.
<br/>
<br/>[embed]133456:19554[/embed]
<br/>
<br/>Another awesome track is the Armored Armadillo stage. This song set the mood perfectly for a stage that had you speeding through a mine on a death cart, destroying all Mavericks in your path, ending in a huge jump across a chasm straight into the Armored Armadillo's chamber. Ahhhh, what a great stage and a great track to listen to while playing though it.
<br/>
<br/>[embed]133456:19553[/embed]
<br/>
<br/>In closing, here's an ocremix track by Protricity that incorporates most of the tracks on the soundtrack into a heavier arrangement.
<br/>
<br/>[embed]133456:19555[/embed]
<br/>
<br/>PS: Why the fuck is it so hard to figure out what the proper sizing is for embedding pics??? I ended up sizing what I wanted to be seen to 550px but adding enough white space to make the image 620px... Seriously?? <p class="post-photos">
<a href="photo.phtml?post_key=133456&photo_key=96093">
<img src="http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/user/3/32035-133456-198789300pxmmxchillpenguinlargeeditjpg-120x.jpg" alt="Photo " />
</a>
</p>
Community Blogs:119136Playing With Others: Surpassing Your Friend (plus small intro) - FunksyFunksy2009-01-24T16:27:39Z2009-01-24T16:27:39ZSo, start with a slight intro since I haven't posted a cblog before. I've been a lover of interactive digital entertainment since I was 3, when my mom bought a NES for my brother and I. I'm a bit of a Nintendo fanboy because of that, but it hasn't kept me from enjoying pretty much every console that has been released since. I won't go into my favorite games or genres as that will take longer than I want to spend on it, but I'm currently enjoying Lost Odyssey, Mega Man 9, SSFIITHDR, L4D, TF2, Mirror's Edge, SC4, Psychonauts, Persona 3, and RB2. I've been enlisted in the US Air Force a little more than 5 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll be happy to answer questions if you have them, but for now I'll get on with the main topic.
<br/>
<br/>PS: I skated through English class in the 3 years that I was in HS and I tested out of English my senior year. There WILL be mistakes. I know you guys are going to blast me for it, just do me a favor and leave some constructive criticism when you've satisfied that need, k?
<br/>
<br/> Have you ever had a friend who was in love with a game that you just couldn't grasp? A game that they had incredible talent in and you were less than mediocre? My friend's game of choice was Quake III: Arena, and he was damn near a master at it.
<br/>
<br/> Those of you who are familiar with Q3 will know that the multiplayer community is filled with some of the most talented FPS players in the world. If you haven't watched a good Q3 frag/trick video before, go ahead and check out the Q3 section at <a target="_blank" href="http://own-age.com">Own-Age.com</a> and prepare to have your mind blown. Some favorites are <a target="_blank" href="http://own-age.com/vids/6212">Get Quaked 3</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://own-age.com/vids/660">Annihilation</a>. Q3 is easily the fastest pace shooter there is. Some people would say that there is not strategy involved, but those are people who haven't spent a significant amount of time with the game and don't yet grasp what item control and spawn control is.
<br/>
<br/> Ok, enough about the game, back to the topic. My friend was in love with Q3, specifically a mod called Rocket Arena. We were both in the military stationed at Ramstein AFB, Germany, and for some reason clicked as friends. We were both gamers, but had some significant differences in taste. He was primarily a PC gamer with some Nintendo interests while I was almost solely interested in consoles. I did have a PC however, and he promptly convinced me to install Q3, the updates, and the Rocket Arena Mod. Playing the single player mode, I got loosely acquainted with the controls, and hopped on to his server. I was promptly trounced, and in a match to 15 frags was able to bring him to 80% armor, 100% health once. If you've never been so thoroughly massacred, it is not a pleasant feeling. Of course, I was not excited to play more Q3 Rocket Arena with my friend.
<br/>
<br/> Over the course of the next 3-4 months, my friend would on a daily basis beg me to play to 15, 10, even 5 frags. I was loathe to walk into defeat over and over again, but being defeated took less time than it did to dissuade him from playing, so more often than not I hopped on, put forth a valiant yet useless effort, and moved on to other things. Every once in a while, I would hit 2 rail shots in a row and score a frag, but fairly consistently he was able to reproduce the results he did the first time we played.
<br/>
<br/> By this time I had realized that he was not going to stop asking me to play with him anytime in the near future, so I decided that I was not going to be massacred any longer. I downloaded a server browser, I started researching tactics and strategy online, and started playing Q3 almost exclusively in my spare time. Even after my friend had gotten involved with a girl and had stopped asking me to play almost entirely, I kept at it and noticed myself slowly but surely improving, eventually to the point that I was able to complete any single player level on the Nightmare difficulty consistently.
<br/>
<br/> Fast forward 6 months. My friend has stopped dating the girl that pulled him away in the first place, he's started spending more time in his dorm room again, and now he wants to play Q3 Rocket Arena again. In that time period, my Q3 playing had definitely slowed down some, but I had long since come to appreciate the skill and quick thinking that was required to play at a high level. That first rematch was almost the complete opposite of what our very first match had been. We played to 15 and he scored a single frag. I out-manuevered and out-shot him on every occassion. After a few weeks of practice, he was able to present me with a slight challenge, but was never able to beat me again.
<br/>
<br/> That was probably one of the best feelings I've had in gaming. I entered the Q3 world a scrub, with little to no experience in FPS games. I was so bad that at first I had little interest in exploring the genre, much less playing more Q3. Being constantly defeated by my friend, however, drove me to do the work and improve myself. Surpassing him after starting so low is one of my greatest achievements in the video game world. I'm not friends with him anymore (turns out he is a little bit of an asshole), but I'll never forget that he is responsible for introducing me to the genre responsible for Q3, TF2, L4D, and CS, which never cease to entertain me no matter how short or long the time I spend with them.